India ranks 34th in Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2020 by JLL

India’s real estate industry has registered one of the largest improvements globally and regionally in Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL) biennial Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI).

The country ranks 34th globally on the index, with higher levels of transparency observed in India due to regulatory reforms, enhanced market data, and sustainability initiatives, JLL mentioned in its official release.

JLL stated that the improvement is led by the progress in the country’s Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) framework attracting greater interest from institutional investors.

India has also edged into the top 20 for Sustainability Transparency through the active role of organizations like the Indian Green Building Council and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.

The 2020 Index is launched at a time of massive economic and societal disruption where the need for transparent processes, accurate and timely data, and high ethical standards are in closer focus.

The backdrop of Covid-19 is also ensuring that transparency within Asia Pacific’s real estate legal and regulatory systems is more important than ever to global investors as they look to deploy approximately $40 billion* in dry powder capital into the region.

Speaking on India’s rank, Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head (India) JLL said in an official statement: “India has seen a steady improvement in the Global Transparency Index over the years. In fact, along with Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, we are among the handful of countries that have seen the highest improvement owing to positive governmental support and an enhanced ecosystem of transparency.”

He added: “In particular, the national REIT framework has been a major contributor to transparency in India, and with ongoing progress and governance, will continue to attract more interest from institutional investors.”

According to him, India has also edged into the top 20 for Sustainability Transparency through the active role of organizations like the Indian Green Building Council and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.

“I see these as extremely positive signs of how much we have covered in the real estate sector and a strong base in which to build on transparency gains,” he believes.

According to JLL, pressure exists from investors, businesses, and consumers to further improve real estate transparency to compete with other asset classes and meet heightened expectations. This also pushed further the industry’s role in providing a sustainable and resilient built environment in the age of Covid-19. Furthermore, innovative new property technology (proptech) is changing how real estate data is gathered and interpreted, and influencing industry transparency at a regulatory level.

“While investment into commercial real estate has inevitably paused during the pandemic, the overarching trend toward rising allocations to this asset class will continue. As investors look to allocate more capital into Asia Pacific real estate, transparency becomes fundamentally more important, as will the enforcement of robust regulatory frameworks,” said Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head – Research & REIS, India, JLL.

The rankings have six Asia Pacific markets – Mainland China (32nd), Thailand (33rd), India (34th), Indonesia (40th), Philippines (44th) and Vietnam (56th) – among the top 10 biggest improvers globally. Mature markets such as Australia (3rd) and New Zealand (6th) have maintained their positions near the top of the global ranking.

Over the last decade, India has shown promising developments and is now at the cusp of being ‘Transparent’ within the GRETI 2020 rankings. At the same time, India’s rank in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Ranking’ improved significantly from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019.

Amongst the indicators, India’s ranking for ease in obtaining construction permits witnessed the highest jump from 182 to 27 in the same period.

Within the realty sector, key structural reforms made in the recent past include the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act 2016 (RERA), GST, Benami Transaction Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2016, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, digitization of land records, among others.

JLL has been tracking real estate transparency since 1999. This 11th edition of GRETI covers 99 countries and territories, and 163 city regions. This latest survey has been extended to quantify 210 separate elements of transparency, with additional coverage on sustainability and resilience, health and wellness, proptech, and alternatives sectors.